ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA FRIARY
ORDER OF FRIARS MINOR CONVENTUAL (OFM Conv.)
ANGOLA INDIANA USA
THE FRANCISCAN FRIARS

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The Order of Friars Minor Conventual, is one of the three branches of the “first order” of the Franciscan family founded by St. Francis of Assisi in the early 13th century. The three branches use the initials OFM (the Observants), OFM Cap. (the Capuchins) and OFM Conv. (the Conventuals). We share many things in common: our vows, lives of service, our commitment to the poor.

The Conventual followers of Francis chose to minister in the heart of towns and cities rather than in remote hermitages; they ministered together in larger communities rather than wandering as itinerant preachers. Their emphasis was on "building up the Church" as a community. Hence the suffix "Conventual" which means , “to come together” or "living in convents". We live in convents of three or more friars. The usual American English word for a convent of Franciscan men is "friary".

The Conventual Franciscans came to the young United States before the Civil War. We founded a number of "provinces" - a geographical collection of friars in an area. Today there are four Conventual provinces in the United States, on the East Coast, on the West Coast, and two "in the middle".

Our province is called the Province of Our Lady of Consolation (OLC), founded in 1926 with our headquarters at Mount Saint Francis in Southern Indiana (Floyd County). We were named after the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio, where we have lived and ministered since 1912. We arrived in Angola, Indiana in 1931 to minister in the newly erected Catholic Parish. Friar Clement Orth, the first Franciscan pastor in Angola, and OLC Province asked that the parish be renamed St. Anthony of Padua, in honor of the great Franciscan saint.

Here in Mishawaka, we built a novitiate - an important part of the formation of young friars. Together with the Catholic people of the area, we built a permanent (but little) church building, in use from 1941 to 1959. That same year, 1941, we established a mission chapel in the northern part of the county, St. Paul's Chapel at Clear Lake.

Many, many friars of our province have lived in Angola over the last 90+ years; Angola is part of the life's blood of our province. We are grateful to all the many people of this area who have supported us in our vocation over the decades. Today (2019) there are five friars who make up St. Anthony of Padua Province in Angola.

Friar Wilfrid Logsdon, OFM Conv.
Born in Salem Township, Ohio, near Carey, 25 August 1932
Entered novitiate in Angola, Indiana in 1950
Solemn vows as a Franciscan, 11 July 1955
Ordained as a priest 22 February 1959

Friar Wilfrid has served as a hospital chaplain in Chicago Heights IL and Lansing MI, as associate pastor or pastor in Lorain OH, Louisville KY, Waupun WI, Lansing MI, and Angola IN (including Clear Lake). From 1991 to 2014, he was a missionary in Georgia, serving in many capacities in and around Brunswick, GA. Friar Wilfrid helped open the Franciscan mission in Georgia and was the last Franciscan to leave Brunswick in 2014. Having been assoc. pastor here in Angola, Indiana from  1978 to 1988, he returned in 2014.
Friar Joachim Kiene OFM Conv.
Born in Lima, Ohio 18 March 1937
Entered novitiate in Angola in 1955
Solemn vows as a Franciscan 27 July 1960
Ordained as a priest 22 february 1964

Friar Joe served as associate pastor in Grand rapids MI and Carlsbad NM before joining the U.S. Navy in 1970. He was an active duty naval chaplain for eight years, serving in San Diego, Okinawa, Guam and Camp Pendleton in California. He served briefly as chaplain of the Wisconsin State Prison in Waupun and as a hospital chaplain in Lorain OH, thereafter he ministered as a chaplain at the V.A. Medical Center in Indianapolis for 31 years (1982-2013). During much of that time, he was also a chaplain for the Indianapolis Police Department. In 2014, Friar Joe returned to Angola in 2014.
Friar Bernard Zajdel OFM Conv.
Born in Gary, Indiana on 13 March 1938
Entered novitiate in Angola in 1955
Solemn vows as a Franciscan, 18 July 1959
Ordained as a priest 22 February 1964

Friar Bernie has happily been a parish priest all his adult life. He has been on the parish staff as associate or as pastor in Milwaukee WI (twice), Lorain OH (twice), Angola IN (twice), Grand Rapids MI and Bloomington MN. Known as both an accomplished dancer and skilled athlete, Fr. Bernie has always been involved in many community activities wherever he has been. He was pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Angola 1979-1988 (with Fr. Wilfrid as his associate) and returned to us as an assoc. pastor in 2014.
Friar Raymond Mallett OFM Conv.
Born in Toledo, Ohio on 14 September 1949
Entered novitiate in Auburn, Indiana in 1971
Solemn vows as a Franciscan on 22 August 1975
Ordained as a priest on 20 March 1976

Friar Ray has served in many capacities all over the United States. He was a formation director for the young friars in Washington D.C. and a school teacher in California. He has served as associate pastor and pastor at various places in the American Midwest and on the West Coast. Before coming to Angola, Fr. Ray was the rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio. Most recently, he has been on sabbatical (2018-2019) which included a tour as a missionary in Vietnam and a pilgrimage along the Camino Pelgrino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
Friar Robert Showers OFM Conv.
Born in Waupun, Wisconsin on 23 October 1959
Entered novitiate in Mishawaka, Indiana in 1982
Solemn vows as a Franciscan in 1 Augst 1986
Ordained as a priest on 29 June 1990

Friar Bob returned from studies in Switzerland to be an assistant in Terre Haute IN and Carey OH, then was a missionary in Denmark for 18 years. While there, he served in various capacities as a library director, youth minister and pastor of different parishes. He also served as the coordinator of the Conventual Franciscan Mission to Scandinavia, which included Sweden and Denmark. He returned to the United States in 2011 and served in Georgia. He came to Angola in 2014 to be guardian (coordinator) of the friary and pastor of the parish.
In May and June 0f 2019, Conventual Franciscan friars from all over the world are gathered at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy for our general chapter. This is a decision making meeting which gathers every six years. We have elected a new minister general (leader of the Order and successor of St. Francis) and other servants of the friars. Click here to learn more about the General Chapter.